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A couple with a stellar culinary record is back in business, opening an eclectic downtown restaurant.
At Knead, clockwise from top: the Not So Simple Greens, chicken marsala tamale and tiramisu.
Michael A. Foley/Rycus Assoc.
Rick and Krista Lopez are at it again. And based on their track record, the odds are good that Knead, across from the Greater Columbus Convention Center, will be a hit with foodies. Each of their three previous establishments—Crescendo Pastaria, La Tavola and Trattoria La Tavola—was named to our Best New Restaurant list for the year it opened and the latter was chosen the very best new place for 2006.
The husband-and-wife team has returned with its first concept that isn’t entirely Italian. The food is very good and eclectic; the most apparent influences are Southwestern (for my money, our most interesting regional cuisine) and Italian, which Rick Lopez has shown he’s mastered. There also are plenty of good vegetarian choices.
The focus at Knead is fresh and local ingredients, facilitated by its location close to the North Market. The menu does breakfast, lunch and dinner selections, although there are only three standard-size entrees. And the items change, depending on what’s in season and what the chef feels like doing.
If you’re there for breakfast (served all day), you’ll find an Egg Mc-something offering. In the case of one of my visits, it was the Egg Mclunkin Sandwich: scrambled eggs and cheese with savory house-cured bacon on a buttery good biscuit.
Sandwiches for lunch? The Brewben—great beer-braised brisket with sauerkraut and Swiss on a beer bun—is not to be missed. The excellent Motherclucker offered a nice pulled smoked chicken with bourbon maple red chili glaze (like a superior barbecue sauce), pepper gouda and slaw. The Cuban-OH also was quite wonderful, with pulled chunks of tender braised pork in green chili sauce, excellent ham, Swiss, fine mild pickle slices and mayo. There was even a rich and tasty vegetarian version of a Sloppy Joe, called the Slop V Joe. It was a mash of walnuts, smoked shiitake, pickles, Swiss chard, spelt, chickpeas, onions and tomato conserve. You would do well to consider a side order of the excellent long-cut slaw or the McDonald’s-style fries (but crispier and tastier, with a surprisingly good tomato fennel ketchup and garlic aïoli).
Did I say the food was interesting already? Just wait. There was pretty darn good pizza, 10-inch pies on thin crust. Toppings were not standard. I had the That’s the Old Peppa twice. The first time, there were unpleasant scorch marks on the bottom of the crust, but the second was just fine and the topping of smoked jalapeño, tomato sauce, a heavy dose of Amish cheddar and that good house bacon was tasty. Perhaps a better one—I have to try again to be sure—was the Fun Guy: shiitake and oyster mushrooms with a lovely sweet fennel sausage on tomato and mozzarella.
The salads were just fine. The contents of Not So Simple Greens included truly excellent greens and other ingredients that seemed to vary with the week: One time there were magnificent roasted beets, another time super feta cheese. I had the Bacaprese, a one-off version of a caprese, featuring house bacon, diced raw candy onions and what was supposedly Mayfield blue cheese. The basil olive oil was quite nice.
Small plates were without exception excellent. Assorted Homemade Breads & Spreads was different each visit, but the breads were first-rate and the spreads tasty. I particularly liked the pinkish radish butter offered one night, although the yellowish lentil hummus also was good. The osso buco tamale blended two culinary cultures admirably. The magnificent beef short rib was braised in red wine and tomato, spiked with ancho chili, topped with gremolata and served deconstructed on its corn husk. Chili and cheese taquitos were crisp and delicious, made from ground beef in a housemade chili sauce with cashews and cheddar and served with black beans, sour cream and diced onions.
The large plate standout was green chile chicken parm, a smallish, but tasty breaded and perfectly sautéed breast portion with good green chili sauce and black bean shiitake mushrooms.
Don’t pass on dessert. The tiramisu was exemplary, both for the quality of the dessert cream and the perfect texture of the soaked ladyfingers. Chocolate chip cookies were excellent, and Knead’s take on the Twinkie, made with lemon curd, was outstanding.
The not-huge room was pleasant. There’s a pastry case just inside the door so you can check out your dessert ahead of time. The layout includes a nice bar and good use of seating space. I particularly liked the large map of Ohio showing the location of some of the restaurant’s food sources.
The beer menu was outstanding, with many local and regional brews worth knowing about. Although I only scratched the surface, I found a number worth ordering again (and again). My favorite, so far, was Sunshine Pils, beautifully made, refreshingly hoppy, clean and full of flavor.
Check out the day’s cocktail specials: Both the Lime Ricky and the Peach Bellini were fine. The small wine selection had some excellent choices, among them Xiloca, a Spanish grenache, and Vicar’s Choice sauvignon blanc from New Zealand.
Knead Urban Diner
505 N. High St.
228-6323
Atmosphere: Comfortable and with style.
Recommended dishes: Brewben, Cuban-OH, fries, Not So Simple Greens, Assorted Homemade Breads & Spreads, osso buco tamale, green chile chicken parm, tiramisu.
Price range: Breakfast $5-$7; sandwiches $8-$10; pizza $9-$12; sides $2-$4; salads $7-$11; small plates $3-$8; large plates $14-$19.
Hours: Tuesday through Thursday 11 am to 10 pm; Friday till 11 pm; Saturday 9 am to 11 pm; Sunday brunch 10 am to 2 pm; closed Monday.
Service: Attentive and cheerful.
Reservations: Not accepted.
Rating: ***1/2
